Wednesday, February 18, 2009

This is going to be part one of two posts. Today, I will talk to you about making a delicious, fairly easy gluten-free crust for a tart (or a one crust pie). Tomorrow we'll use that crust to make a lemon-lime tart. It will be a delicious adventure.

It all started earlier today. A few of my boy friends are coming over tonight, and I like to bake things when people come over because it lets me try out recipes and then not have to eat all of the final product. This is a project that requires about two sticks of butter, so I'd rather feed some of it to other people so I don't have to eat all two sticks of butter on my own. Or with Alex's help. To tell you the truth, two sticks of butter are the last thing we need.

I wanted to make a pie or some sort of tart, but didn't have any ideas. We don't have enough pecans to make a pecan pie, we don't have any rum to make a liquor pie, and I didn't have any ideas at all. I scrolled through my 'recently starred' items in Google Reader and found Deb's recipe over at Smitten Kitchen for a whole lemon tart. I have a whole lemon, I think!

I didn't have a whole lemon. But it was too late. My mind was made up. I wanted to make a 'pat in the pan' crust, some version of the crust I use for lemon bars. I looked at Deb's recommended crust, her 'great unshrinkable tart crust' and you know what? It's the same as the crust I use for lemon bars, but with more sugar. I followed her baking directions, and it worked out. Deliciously.

Pulse the dry ingredients together in the food processor, then cut up the butter and add that. Pulse until butter is about the size of peas. Beat the egg, and add while the processor is running. Keep mixing until the dough starts to come together. Pat the crust into a tart pan, prick all over with a fork, and freeze for half an hour or so. Preheat the oven to 375. Lightly grease the shiny side of a piece of foil, and press it down on top of the crust and over the edges. Bake 25 minutes. Take off the foil and fill as you would like, then bake again. If the edges get too brown, cover them with foil, but even dark brown the crust is still delicious and perfect.

Come back tomorrow to see the finished lemon-lime tart!

This is how your dough will look, maybe, when it is finished being mixed

Suz- I'm sure you can just substitute more flour mix for the almond flour, I just threw it in there because I like the flavor and because I had a lot at the time. If you make it without the almond flour, let me know how it works out!

Very tasty! Although I am afraid I took perhaps so many "liberties" with the recipe that it wasn't quite the same. I used ground almonds and a vegan margarine, so it was really soft - I had to spread it with a spatula. But that actually worked out well, as after the freezing and blind baking I topped it with a mixture of lemon curd and red fruit jam (to which I added a spoonful of marmalade and some crème fraiche)(I was emptying my fridge!) Then I baked it again. The bottom crust was a little thicker than a proper pie crust, but it made an almond-y layer which was reminiscent of a frangipane tart, which was delicious. I will be making this again, so thank you.

We used this for a Thanksgiving pumpkin tart. It has a good texture but didn't need that much butter. I put the tart pan on a cookie sheet and there was a layer of oil that made it's way out. I added orange zest and pepitas and I think the zest brightened it up.